This invention concerns a method and apparatus for the treatment of gliding surfaces on winter sports equipment.
In order to optimally use winter sports equipment such as downhill, cross country and jumping skis, skibobs, monoskis, snowboards and sled-like equipment with runners, it is necessary to adapt the properties of their gliding surfaces, i.e., their gliding capability, to the respective needs of the users as well as to the snow conditions. Generally the aim is to increase the gliding capability, particularly when the equipment is used competitively, but in certain cases it may also be desirable to reduce the gliding capability, for example when using skis for climbing a mountain or by beginners, or for the attachment of skins.
The adapting of the gliding capacity is done by the application of a wax coating that firmly clings to the gliding surface of the equipment, in most cases containing primarily olefins and which is produced and sold in many variations.
Another purpose of treating the gliding surfaces is to protect the coating applied by the manufacturer. On winter sports equipment of higher quality these coatings consist of high-molecular sintered synthetic materials which, however, without care are subject to aging and embrittlement. This can be prevented at least in part by filling the micro cavities of these synthetic materials with wax. Apart from the protective effect, this creates small reservoirs which empty during gliding, and the clinging of the material is improved.
This wax layer has to be applied to the gliding surface of the equipment in such a manner that it clings tightly to it, and produces a completely flat and flexible running surface.
The waxing of skis has been known for at least 100 years. Originally the wax was applied to the wood or painted gliding surfaces by rubbing a hard block of wax against them. This system is still used today by excursion skiers. However, the wax coatings produced in this manner are not very smooth and also do not cling particularly well. An improvement is attained when warmed or melted wax is applied, which better penetrates the micro cavities and scratches of the gliding surfaces and also can be more evenly distributed to form a flat and smooth surface. For this purpose all types of devices with a flat sole are used, generally called ski irons and which can be heated by means of alcohol, Meta, gas or electricity. They are used for smoothing an existing wax coating, or for applying hard but warmed or liquid wax, which is then smoothed at the same time. Although these irons are not very convenient and in part quite dangerous due to the fuel used, whereby they do not provide sufficiently smooth surfaces and have to be cleaned after every application, winter sports away from mass tourism still depends on them. However, for winter sports near mountain railroads and heavily used trails, as well as for competitive winter sports, various possibilities have been explored for solving the ski waxing problems by means of stationary devices which can apply a wax coating rapidly and without danger, so that it penetrates the surface, adheres well and provides a completely flat and smooth running surface.
It is known, for example, to apply liquid wax to skis from a heated wax tub by means of a continuous belt or roller, whereby the lower side of the belt or roller half runs through the wax tub while the upper side applies the collected wax to the skis. This method is used in ski shops, and has the advantage that the skier with the skis on his feet can move over a wax tub and have his skis waxed in a comfortable manner. However, their disadvantage is that the wax application is not sufficiently smooth and that the tips of the skis generally do not receive a wax application. In addition, the temperature of the applied wax is too low, as it cools on the belt or roller so that it does not penetrate the coating.
In other procedures the skis are mounted in a clamping device with their gliding surfaces facing upwardly, and the wax is applied with a brush or the like. This results in a good adhesion of the wax due to its high temperature, but the smoothness of the surface is not satisfactory. Even in a semiautomatic device, which eliminates the irregularity of manual work, there is always the problem during the back and forth motion of the applicator tool that too little or too much wax is applied, particularly in the end areas, and it is also very difficult to wax the ski tips.
It has also been tried to apply a wax layer to an adhesive tape, which is then applied to the bottom of the ski and pulled off. These tapes are very handy, but the warming of the wax is omitted. There is also the danger that the wax layer will become loose on the ski, for example if it is damaged by rocks, which can lead to severe accidents.
For this reason it has been attempted to provide a carrier tape with a wax layer, to apply it with its waxy side on the gliding surface of a ski, and to heat the tape with an iron such that the wax adheres to the ski and the carrier tape could be pulled off. While this does not avoid the dangerous handling of fuels for heating the iron, its sole does not contact the wax and thus remains clean and can be immediately reused for other skiers and for other wax types. Unfortunately, with this method the full wax layer becomes loose because it is highly heated on its outer side, but much too little on the ski side, so that it will not adhere very well to the ski.
In order to obtain good adhesion as well as a smooth surface, it has been tried to iron wax onto the gliding surface through plates with a large number of very small holes, e.g., tightly meshed grates or sieves. With this fine distribution of the wax a well adhering and sufficiently smooth surface is obtained, but the sole of the iron becomes soiled and has to be cleaned repeatedly, which always interrupts the waxing process.
It has also been tried to iron wax impregnated ribbons, e.g., made of fabric or paper, onto the gliding surface and to then remove the fabric or paper; in this manner good results are obtained with regard to surface smoothness and adhesion, but again the sole of the iron becomes soiled and the iron has to be repeatedly cleaned.
More recently it has been attempted to spray the skis with pulverized wax or with liquid wax from a type of spray gun. The advantage is that there is rapid drying so that a smooth surface is obtained even if the skis are treated when they are in a slanted, almost vertical position. The device for clamping the skis also needs much less space. A disadvantage, however, is that a suction system has to be installed in order to prevent health-damaging effects.
Another problem for waxing is due to the fact that often wet or cold sports equipment has to be treated. However, low temperatures make the application of a sufficiently smooth coating impossible. For this reason the skis have to warm up, so that they have to remain in the service station for some time, which results in an undesirable delay for the user.
Not only the application of wax coatings, for which no fully satisfactory procedure is known so far, but also the removal of old wax coatings or remnants provides difficulties. A purely mechanical scratching off is time consuming and may damage the ski coating. The heating of the wax so that it can be more easily removed by sliding or wiping it off, also has problems. First of all, it is possible that the ski could be heated too much and thus subjected to damage. Secondly, the heating, depending on the procedure and type of fuel, can be dangerous. Thirdly, noxious vapors or gases are produced when the wax decomposes under the influence of heat.